


Muscle Memory

by Laurasauras



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Angst, F/M, M/M, The Homestuck Epilogues: Candy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-11-01 08:56:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20812448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laurasauras/pseuds/Laurasauras
Summary: Dave tries to teach Roxy how to ride a bike and talk to his partners while dealing with the time slippage typical of Earth C's Candy-ness.





	Muscle Memory

**Author's Note:**

> Side chapter to my fic [Sweet As Candy](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20802920), but darker. I hinted at the difficulties inherent in living in the Candy universe in that fic, but in this one I dwell in them. I've thought a lot about why Dave didn't give it a go with Karkat in Candy, and this is my best guess. It kind of breaks my heart, but I couldn't help writing it. 
> 
> Warning: It's super Candy compliant, so if you didn't like the way shit was portrayed there, I can't imagine you'll love this.

ROXY: i dont kno about this d  
DAVE: its okay  
DAVE: i mean apart from the obvious that youre a fuckin god and it would take more than falling like two feet to the ground to hurt you even a little  
DAVE: i got you

Dave has one hand steady on Roxy’s back and the other holding the handlebars still. He’s seen this posture in the movies. He did not learn how to ride a bike like this. He wasn’t allowed training wheels.

Roxy’s bike doesn’t have training wheels either, not because they don’t really do that for adult sized bikes (Dave knows too many people capable of engineering much more complicated adjustments) but because he actually kind of agrees with his bro’s logic on that one. She should get used to the balance of a real bike. She’s capable.

DAVE: im not letting go yet  
DAVE: were just getting used to it right?  
DAVE: you know where your breaks are?

Roxy squeezes the triggers on the handlebars, looking up at Dave with naked need for validation. He smiles back. God it’s scary being trusted like this. 

He doesn’t know what he’ll do if she goes to fall. He could catch her no matter how far away she got. He remembers the shocking, literally surprising and awful, pain of falling off a bike, back when he wore shorts because he wasn’t used to scraping up his knees. He remembers feeling betrayed that his brother never caught him. But it’s important, right? To fall down sometimes?

Time jerks suddenly in that awful soft way it does and Dave’s hands are suddenly empty. Roxy has one foot down, leaning to the side to balance, about 20 feet away from him. He flashsteps to her. 

DAVE: you remember anything there  
ROXY: nada  
ROXY: kinda looks like i did it tho?  
DAVE: looks like you *owned* it mom  
DAVE: rox  
ROXY: so if i did it once i can do it again rite?  
DAVE: solid logic  
DAVE: its easier to balance when youre going at a decent speed  
DAVE: if you go slow its like the damn thing doesnt want to hold you up  
DAVE: i have no idea why youd have to ask one of the spacey folks  
ROXY: ur not tryna get me to fall r u?  
DAVE: i wont let you fall

He’s decided now. She can learn by the adrenaline rush of the bike unbalancing or by falling off when he’s not around, but he can’t not catch her while he’s here, while she’s still learning. 

DAVE: whenever youre ready okay?  
ROXY: u must think im a big baby for not just doin it huh  
DAVE: i got all the time in the world

Dave shakes his head a little to let his shades slip down his nose so he can wink over them. He can’t quite scrunch his nose enough to put them back in place. Roxy does it for him, smiling. 

ROXY: ur such a dork

Dave actually is starting to feel a bit impatient. Roxy is braver than this. But that impatience is terrifying, it scares him right back into patience. 

DAVE: we dont even have to do this today if you dont want  
ROXY: assuming that this has all happened on one day  
DAVE: lets not go there  
DAVE: im saying if you want a break thats cool  
ROXY: no i can do this  
ROXY: i mean i dont exactly kno if this is gonna come up in adult life or watevs  
ROXY: i guess its just kinda sad not to kno how to ride a bike?  
ROXY: and shit maybe in this bizarro wish granting world therell be kids i want to teach this to one day  
DAVE: and youll tell those adorable fuckers that your papa taught you  
DAVE: oh god i take that back  
DAVE: papa? what the actual fuck  
ROXY: lmao  
ROXY: ok im gonna go now u have to let go of the handle lol  
DAVE: im right here

Roxy smiles confidently and then pushes her foot down on the pedal. Dave lets the handle go right as the bike starts to move, moving with her to keep his hand on her back. 

DAVE: damn girl youre gonna be beating lance armstrong in no time  
DAVE: insert nut and or drug joke here  
ROXY: omg im tryin to concentrate d maybe less jokes  
DAVE: hey me too you have all my focus rn  
DAVE: i didnt actually make the jokes did i

The bike wobbles slightly, more so because Roxy’s moving at a pace that makes Dave do a supremely awkward half-jog to keep up with rather than out of jocular distraction, and Dave fists his free hand into a tight ball to keep from scooping her off the bike and into the air. She corrects her balance on her own and Dave relaxes minutely.

DAVE: youre doing so good rox  
ROXY: u bet ur…

Time slides forward again and Dave is back in his house, apparently in the middle of watching TV with Karkat. He groans, tipping his head back.

KARKAT: WHAT?  
KARKAT: I DIDN’T CHOOSE THIS *FOR* THE JAKE BUTT, IT’S JUST THAT THE NON-JAKE OPTIONS ARE SO SUPREMELY LIMITED.  
DAVE: nah dude i dont care if were hanging out watching our dear friend dance around in his knickers or whatever the fuck he calls them  
DAVE: i was just actually having a moment there before…  
KARKAT: WHAT?  
KARKAT: OH, I DIDN’T NOTICE THAT ONE.   
DAVE: yeah  
DAVE: theyre pretty fuckin subtle  
DAVE: hope i get used to them soon  
DAVE: shit time to be a time player  
KARKAT: IF IT MAKES YOU FEEL ANY BETTER, BLOOD HAS NEVER BEEN FUCKING REAL.  
KARKAT: BASED ON THE VANTAS ASSOCIATION I HAVE TO ASSUME IT’S THE ASPECT OF NEVER BEING ABLE TO SHUT THE FUCK UP.  
KARKAT: I DON’T KNOW WHAT YOUR EXCUSE IS.  
DAVE: gotta fill time with my words or something?   
DAVE: the real cant shut up aspect is definitely light though  
KARKAT: HA, YEAH.

They sit in silence for a bit, staring at Jake’s ass out of a lack of other stimulus. It’s a comforting consistency that however fucked up their world gets, there’s always Jake’s ass to ogle. 

Dave takes out his phone and messages Roxy.

DAVE: so do you know how to ride a bike now or what?  
ROXY: no idea  
ROXY: gonna hope it seeped into my muscle mem or somethin  
ROXY: maybe next time we should take john along  
DAVE: maybe  
DAVE: you okay though?  
ROXY: yea i mean  
ROXY: i dunno its harder to work towards shit  
ROXY: but damn like not rly?  
ROXY: its not like we have jobs or responsibilities  
ROXY: well most of us cos obvs kan is just puttin us all to shame on that front  
ROXY: so mb it takes us a bit extra work to like learn how to ride a bike or whatevs  
ROXY: we got it so easy it almost balances out i reckon  
DAVE: damn that was a helluva pep talk  
DAVE: you let me know if you want to have another go alright?  
ROXY: fo sho daddyo  
DAVE: thats weirder than when i call you mom  
DAVE: no idea why but im really really sure it is  
ROXY: lmao  
ROXY: look i g2g i got a date  
DAVE: have fun

Dave looks up at Karkat. Maybe Roxy’s right. Almost every time time slips from under his hands he finds himself sitting next to Karkat, as if that’s his save-state. His natural place. But it’s not just the two of them. Karkat’s half sitting on one of Jade’s dresses that she’s left over the back of the couch, probably wrinkling it in a half-hearted acquiescence of her pitch flirting. 

They can’t leave Jade alone again. They just can’t. She just doesn’t deserve that. 

But maybe, if they can talk about it, even if it takes weeks or years to get the thoughts out, he could …

But Dave would rather die than let Jade see that the way he loves Karkat doesn’t look like how he loves her. If he lets himself have Karkat too, she’ll know. She’ll know that his love isn’t casual at all. The awkwardness he feels when trying to love Jade properly isn’t there with Karkat, because he forgets to be awkward around Karkat. It doesn’t take work to love Karkat. It’s safer if they keep it pale.

Time slips away before he can do anything. He holds his head, hating how wrong it feels. When he gets over it, he notices that he’s in bed. With Jade. He keeps his sigh to his damn thoughts, and wraps his arms around her. 

Not all of them feel the time slips in the same way. Dave feels them most, understandably, but Jade (either through space being about as far away from time as possible or maybe through being John’s sister) doesn’t seem to notice them unless someone points them out with excruciating detail.

Her mind just kinda fills in the blanks. She probably “remembers”, or close enough, exactly what has happened to get them in this position. At least one of us is getting laid, Dave thinks spitefully. 

He doesn’t remember losing his virginity. He doesn’t remember what happened the one time he woke up with both Jade and Karkat in his bed. He doesn’t remember if he’s told Jade he loves her, or if he’s told her why those words stick in his throat. 

Whatever, with the amount of time they all lose, staying with Jade for 80 years will probably feel like a snap. He refuses to acknowledge his immortality. 

Jade sighs in his arms and he holds her a little closer. He’s an ungrateful son of a bitch sometimes. Look at what he has. Anyone on Earth C would saw off their left nut to be here. He’s lucky. He’s happy.   



End file.
